ATLANTA - Speculation about an influenza pandemic and the current avian flu outbreak has created growing interest in the need to control indoor environmental factors that affect transmission of infectious diseases.
"Viruses in emerging infectious diseases might have jumped from animals (or birds) to humans, but it is mostly in buildings that these viruses could easily spread among us," said Hua Qian, University of Hong Kong. "The impact of ventilation on infectious disease transmission and the importance of engineers in designing and installing sound ventilation systems to prevent this spread must be an integral part of the discussion."